Quarantine UFO Series #4, Rainbow Fruit Quilt and Trivet

Rainbow Fruit Quilt

Every time I go into a fabric store and see fabrics with fruits and veggies, I was mesmerized by their color. I love the richness and amazing variety! I was collecting pieces until I had enough to make my fruit and veggie basket quilt. I actually ended up with enough blocks to make 2 smaller quilts, and a bunch of scraps. I just couldn’t let any of it go, and of course, had to find new projects for it.

I made a 12 inch block with the leftover ½ triangle squares that created a wonderful rainbow look. It was put away, like so many other projects I had been working on, and forgotten. As I worked through my UFO pile, I started to venture into my “lost blocks” pile, which is where I found the rainbow block. I pulled it out, along with the scraps, and tried to figure out how I can use this stuff up. I tried and tried, and couldn’t figure out what to do. I was chatting with the hubby about it and he asked why I needed to keep that block in the quilt if I had enough fabric to make a new one? Huh, good point!

I took the block out and started to layout the leftover pieces. I came up with a rainbow style layout creating a real pop of color. I set it on a black background, bringing the colors out even more, and then used the last of the scraps to create an off-set border.

So… then I needed a backing. I went into my stash and found a picnic table pattern with ants crawling on it. Could NOT be more perfect! My daughter saw it and said she wanted a face mask made with it. As much as I loved that idea, I needed all of it to make the backing. I trimmed it with a little black to get to the size I needed. Worked excellent!

The quilting was a simple straight stitch crosshatch on the rainbow element and then a basic meander on the black. It keeps the attention on the colors and rainbow style. I’m really happy with how this turned out. I’m so glad I saved these fabrics, and thought outside the box to create this.

Of course, the block that started this project was still unaccounted for. I decided to make a simple trivet with it. I used the very last of the scraps to make a patchwork backing and used a simple straight stitch for quilting. It is now gracing my counter with its bold colors and providing function when I pull something out of the oven.

And with that, I have yet another project finished. Love how I’ve been able to clean through my fabric stash and unfinished projects at the same time.

Of course, going into the UFO block pile opened a door, and now I have more projects I want to get to work on. Let’s see...